Hiroshima in 1955, the Year of Sadako's DeathDuring the occupation of Japan,
the U.S. curtailed reporting on the atomic bombings.
After the San Francisco
Peace Treaty was signed in 1951, research and reporting
on the damage could finally proceed.
People learned for the first time what the atomic
bombings had done.
By 1955, the words "A-bomb disease" were appearing
in the news,
often in newspaper reports of the deaths of victims
and related events.
Survivors suffered both the fear of being the next
death and lack of empathy from those around them.
When a Japanese tuna fishing boat was exposed to
fallout from a US hydrogen bomb test
over the Bikini Atoll in March 1954, the movement
to ban atomic and hydrogen bombs gathered momentum,
and public interest in damage from the atomic bombings
heightened as well. Subsequently,
the movement to support the survivors intensified.
The public's great interest in atomic and hydrogen
bombs also bolstered the movement
to build the Children's Peace Monument to mourn
the children who died from the atomic bombing,
a movement that was inspired by Sadako's death.

35 Treatment of Leukemia1957 / Hiroshima
A-bomb HospitalTreatments for leukemia include
transfusion to directly increase the number of white
blood cells; chemotherapy, in which medicines are
used to restrain the multiplication of cancer cells;
and bone marrow transplants to generate healthy
blood. Research is still in progress. It was around
1955 that medicine to stop the multiplication of
cancer cells finally began to be widely available.
Although the most advanced medicine available was
used on Sadako, she died less than a year after
she first showed symptoms.

The Atomic Bombing and Leukemia The
incidence of leukemia among survivors peaked
between 1950 and 1953. Because the symptoms of
leukemia are the same regardless of whether the
person was exposed to the bombing, there is no
way to judge whether or not radiation exposure
caused the disease. However, since leukemia incidence
percentages are higher among those exposed to
high levels of radiation than among those not
exposed, it is surmised that radiation exposure
is a significant factor. In leukemia, white blood
cells, which attack bacteria that invade the
body, transform into cancer cells and proliferate
out of control. In response to the increase in
these cancerous white blood cells, which are
immature and of no use to the body, mature white
blood cells and platelets decrease. Therefore,
resistance to bacteria weakens and the tendency
to hemorrhage grows. Common symptoms are swollen
lymph nodes, fever, anemia, and pupura. When
the illness advances, it often leads to death.

36 The Life of the Survivors1955 / New York City, USAMany survivors fearing for their
health and lived in abject poverty, with few special
assistance measures in place to help them. Around
1951, the problems of young women whose faces and
arms were disfigured by keloids--the "A-bomb Maidens"--began
to attract attention and change the way the public
viewed the atomic bombing in general. Public interest
in the medical treatment of the young women generalized
into concern for the survivors, of whom little had
previously been known. The photo shows Hiroshima
A-bomb Maidens receiving treatment at the hospital
in New York

37
Poorly Understood "A-bomb Disease"November 1954 / Hiroshima City HospitalThe publication of medical research
that explored the question of how bombing exposure
manifested in aftereffects was severely curtailed
under the occupation. After the signing of the San
Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951, issues of the atomic
bombing could be discussed freely. However, radiation
effects were not well understood in 1955. Some were
prejudiced against survivors because they believed,
for example, that "A-bomb Disease" was contagious.
The photo is of the 13th A-bomb sufferers group
examination.

38
The Growing Movement for a Ban on Atomic and Hydrogen
BombsAugust 6, 1955 / Hiroshima City
AuditoriumIn March 1954, the Japanese tuna
fishing boat 5th Fukuryu-maru (Lucky Dragon) was
exposed to a US hydrogen bomb test over the Bikini
Atoll. Crew members were hospitalized for health
problems caused by radiation exposure, and six months
later one of them died. This incident sent shock
waves throughout Japan, energizing the movement
to ban hydrogen and atomic bombs, which led to the
First World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen
Bombs in 1955. In this way, word about the damage
of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
got out to the world. The adoption of the Law Concerning
Medical Care for A-bomb Victims (A-bomb Victims
Medical Care Law) in 1957 gave the national government
responsibility for health examinations and treatment
of survivors. Adequate treatment of survivors was
finally beginning.